First of all Editor if you want to bundle this into a single thread for the Cendence no problem, I posted a new one as that was more about something it should not have been imo.
Hi All, Ok this going to be a big one so sorry in advance, this week has been a crazy one for me with the
Inspire 2 finally coming and all, however I actually received 3 packages not two , DJI were extremely kind enough to send me over Cendence to have a play with and test and feed back on now I have the
Inspire 2, I wanted to share some info and some of my initial thoughts, but again sorry this is along one. .
Over the last few days I have been very lucky to able to spend some time with DJI Cendence controller coupled with CrystalSky on the
Inspire 2, I must state first of all that this is pre release hardware and software so some things may change a little on the final product but this is late in the day and I would not expect to see anything major though from a hardware point of view.
After setting up and testing its features for a few days I can say I am honestly loving it, the
Inspire 2 standard RC design dates back to the original Inspire remote and it's clear that was built with ease of use with an touch based app driven product in mind, simple straight forward controls that allows you to get the basics done, as time has gone on more feature have been added and with camera such as the X5 Series there is now a need for a more dedicated feature rich controller and the Cendence is just that, it brings all the app based features and option back to your finger tips at a touch of a button with out the need to move off the controls.
The Controller
The Cendence controller has been specifically designed to be used with the
Inspire 2 and M200 Series, the layout is user friendly and comfortable to hold, it feels solid and well build and like most recent DJI products the overall impression is the this is a quality piece of equipment, since the Mavic Pro especially DJI have really been kicking it out the park in this area and it shows here again.
Its powered by the same 2S 4920mah smart battery that CrystalSky uses, It does still have the built in charge circuit like all of the remote before it so this does mean you can charge packs either in the remote or in the Crystalsky charge station so your able to fly and charge other packs at the same time.
In the centre of the main body you have a small LCD screen that shows flight critical data such as aircraft speed, height and power levels, this means you can fly with the Go app in full screen mode and still see critical flight information.
Sticks and Buttons
Looking at the feel of the controller I find gimbals are similar to other DJI controllers and are very responsive, the sticks move smoothly and response is precise, they do have adjustable springs via four holes in the bottom but I found that it shipped with just the right amount of tension.
The sticks them selves are topped quality machined metal that both grippy and finger friendly, height is adjustable as you would expect with any modern controller, overall the main control placement is very good, it's comfortable to use and buttons and knobs are located easily with in normal reach so you don't have to move your hand off the controls.
On the controller you see there is a wealth of buttons that you can program to control a number of both craft and app related features, some of the buttons on the controller are pre programmed for dedicated features like Menu, RTH,Pause and are marked as such, the rest are labelled C or B buttons and these can be set to things such as closing wind alerts, toggle map and live feed screens, focus and exposure metering as well as options like changing radio frequency and turning the LEDs on and off, there are also some other fixed feature buttons and knobs on Cendence like Record,Shutter and Focus on the RH corner, you also have the camera Yaw and Pitch controls rocker wheels on either side too.
Underneath the controller you have the 2 usual C triggers that are programable as before but DJI have added two new smaller C buttons further up, these can all be mapped just like the other buttons on the controller, down the side you will find two additional programable sliders mounded into the grip, one located each side.
On the left side you have the usual DJI controller changing connector below the runner cover, this accepts input from the
Inspire 2 and other DJI chargers just like the standard controller
At the bottom you have a cooling vent as well as two screw bosses for mounting to a tray or other support mounts, there are a further two mounting posts located underneath as well.
Integrated Focus Control
One of the big new features is a dedicated focus control knob, this is located just above the the LCD screen for X4s and X5S users, this knob is very smooth with good level of restriction to prevent accidental changes, it is setup to be endless and clickless for very fine tuning of focus control, further to this next to the LCD you have 4 pre programmed camera settings buttons for Ev, ISO, shutter ect that are used in combination with the rotary selector on the rh side.
Focus Control Knob
Camera Buttons for ISO,Shutter etc